Location: Sausalito, Calif.
Contractor: Jaimie Stewart,
Landmark Builders, Novato, Calif.
Designer: Mark English, AIA,
Mark English Architects, San Francisco
Challenge: This house has a street-level entry, but the main living space is one floor below.
Solution: Architect Mark English solved the problem by designing a double-height foyer and creating a bridge that brings the feel of a living area to the entry. The bridge and stairs to the main level are separated by a glass and steel railing. Judges said: The “simple and elegant” design is deceiving because it requires significant structural bracing — the steel column on the lower landing carries the load of the upper structure. On the lower level, the glass rail continues down to the floor and frames the “sculptural form” of the stairs.
—Nina Patel, senior editor, REMODELING.
